Men's Track & Field

Sanchez and Young Lead the Way While Qualifying for the ECAC Championships

Jan 21, 2012

Kings Point track and field enjoyed another solid performance this past Saturday as they competed against some of the top competition in the east in the likes of Wesleyan University, Amherst College, Bowdoin College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Rhode Island College, Connecticut College, Bridgewater State University, SUNY Cobleskill, Easter Connecticut State University, Medgar Evers College and Assumption College at the Wesleyan University Winter Invitational.

The Highlight of the day came in the 600m as FR Tomas Sanchez and SR Co-Captian Kevin Young blazed around the track hitting the first ECAC qualifying marks of the season for the Mariners. Sanchez won his heat with a time of 1:24.34 and was just edged out by two competitors from the preceding heat to finish in 3rd place overall. Young's finish of 1:25.97 was good for 7th place. Both athletes will represent Kings Point in the Eastern College Athletic Championships (ECAC) contested at the Armory in NYC on 3/2-3/3. While the 600m is not an event contested in the ECACs, it can be used to qualify for the 500m, which is what Sanchez and Young will run in the championships.

The Mariner long jumpers had a very strong day as well with a pair of Freshman placing 3rd and 5th overall. Chris Cook came just .01 meters off of his lifetime best with a jump of 6.46m. Ryan Faber's mark of 6.31m was the best jump of his season to date. Both jumpers are poised to contend for the Landmark Conference title in the event.

Cook also lead off the 4x400m relay team along with SR Hunter Karass, FR Tomas Sanchez and FR Trevor Brandt to finish the meet in 4th place with a clocking of 3:34.35 for the fastest relay time of the year for the Mariners.

Other personal best marks were abundant throughout the day. Karass ran very well to a 12th place finish in the open 400m, coming through in 53.49. SR Co-Coptain Logan Swan ran to two personal best marks on the day with a 9:51.45 in the 3000m and a 4:52.44 in the mile.

"It was great to see so many guys competing at a level that they had not yet reached in their careers. Tyler McDaniel, Richard Shelest and Logan Shatters all really made some great strides forward in the sprints. Matt Pastuszak is showing he has some strong potential in the Mid-distance range. Our team is improving steady gains across the board weekly and even hit some ECAC marks this week. This squad is starting to look quite formidable," said the Mariners Head Coach Greg Lott.

Kings Point will have an "off weekend" next week and race again on 2/4 at Dickinson College for the DuCharme Invitational.